Welcome

In a moment I could see

What was all a lie

Had been telling me

To fear that which was true

That which was true 

Said nothing except

Welcome me and

Introduce itself. 

-Kelly Voelker

Sense of Loss

 At last, I've put a finger

Firmly on a strange feeling

Before now I couldn't identify

When one sees pictures of hieroglyphs

Or tours a grand home from the previous century

Or as now when I carefully sift through

What is left of my parent's long life together.

Or when I see where a railroad track was removed

Or a one room schoolhouse standing in ruin. 

What is this feeling so sad and so dear

It is the profound 'sense of loss.'

I feel we are losing the ability to be simple and free

I feel we are losing our basic survival instincts

To a mountain of plastic nothingness.

Our virtues are tied to commercial holidays

Our emotions milked with well designed ploys

We rely on calculators as we rely on this nothingness

To chart our lives as emptiness drives so many

Out of their minds.

No stability thrives, as security hides 

From the amplified chaos the nothingness breeds

Can one construct from what's left

A life to preserve and use what others would refuse

In solitary satisfaction that these were correct actions

Are these surviving objects futile or essential clues?

-Kelly Voelker

Patterns and Depth

I AM the patterns and the depth I sweep away in a flurry of gust All the papers and tokens kept I accelerate the rust On ironclad beliefs you trust I change the weather In front of and behind To rearrange the plans you make To show you undulations of fate And spread apart the leaves you rake. -Kelly Voelker

The Precipice of Today

Is this the first day or the last Which progression will unmask Is it the last day of security Or the first day of impurity Where my beliefs and instincts fail Or my newest triumph will prevail Is this the last day of a glorious age In which we were too distracted to Realize it was the best we knew Is this the gateway to being tranquilized For an operation we wouldn't choose otherwise But settle on as diminished options rule A ways and means to stay as best As we can with herd control Today however beauty streams Even within societal extremes I still feel happiness and hope Stronger still than yesterday On the precipice which is today. - Kelly Voelker

Sweetgrass and Sage

Within my chest The power of the sun My vision aligns with great and powerful heroes My heart aligns with all inclusive compassion My mind aligns with genius and order As part of a beautiful web of design and harmony Invisible to my human eyes Yet here, in my humble room Simple and unfestooned My spirit decorates the world With parties and celebrations Out of fashion and out of reach To a day filled with uncertainty and strife What situation is this test That I should witness for what reason For what purpose am I in this body Of a sensitive woman Seasoned with contrast and experience For what outcome can I broadcast my will To outshine the complexities I have outgrown To leave behind the drama I once enshrined Can I now in this age of sunflower's fade Shine what I need to with sweet grass and sage? -Kelly Voelker

Black Candle

 I lit a black candle

To process a darkness

'Round the town

I started to focus

On the flame

Then tears of wax

Down the candle came

Black tears on the left side

The tender side 

Of a rigid place

Leaks from where

There's no mistake

A loss of certainty wakes.

-Kelly Voelker

Endeavor's Trail

We do not grow into templates
Or soar by flight plan
We do not live to fulfill
What others envision
Or even master what
Towards we are driven
Instead our lives build upon
Complicated networks
Time and motivation pawned
For stable stature and a lawn
To what end endeavor's trail
Enjoyment, freedom may derail
More a term, agree, consent
Roles reverse then boundaries set
Perspectives none are cut and dried
Sediment of content rich
Settles after current slows
Looked upon as sky at dusk
A wonder after toil and trust.

-Kelly Voelker

Rain or Slim Chance

Living daydreams of fear within domestic hours
Wondering about changes to plans
Which were borrowed from simpler times
Before opinions were locked
During scheduled decency, holidays lined up
Nothing could stop us from keeping them up
The endless parade over the calender's horizon
The vanishing point of which the future's comprised
From our vantage point nothing much would surprise us
Maybe from now on, we shouldn't rush
To fill up our calendars a year in advance
When we aren't too sure of a rain or slim chance.

-Kelly Voelker

New Moon, Darkens the Circle

By filling in the circle dark
The universe has voted on
This day in particular to
Empty the trash that stands perpendicular
And across your intention, purpose and splendor

The new moon cannot even show you its face
As the negative images, regret and sorrow
Try to stand in as what matters tomorrow

The nagging voice inside of your head
Reminding you twice what should've been done instead
No matter what you decided the odds are in favor
This voice disagrees and will tell you repeatedly
During the darkness and in between leisurely

So natural and confident this voice remains
Yet know this for sure
Nothing is contained in the image or concept
That you could do better

The voice that encourages
Feels like a soft sweater
Comforting you as you have deserved
The wisdom of ages is gentle, assured.

- Kelly Voelker

Bad Blood

Bad blood eventually becomes
The infrastructure all come upon
When suddenly finding oneself
Caught up and captive
In red tape and systems
Which won't dare or heed
But hide in the shadows
Occluded by vagueness
Stonewalling ideas
Rooted in greed.

Secrecy protects
Ulterior motives
Preventing solutions and
Straight common sense

No news is possible
No facts can be found
No opinions well stated
So gossip abounds

Free flowing progress
Dries up or goes elsewhere
Preventing some new blood
From healing the wounds of
An old bad blood network
Too hidden to see
Stunting the quality of
The whole community.

Kelly Voelker

Without and Within Memories

Without memories
Without a doubt
I can transform anything
From dismal to devout.

Without memories
Without a doubt
I could transform
A neglected room or house.

Without memories
Without a doubt
I would charge after
What I was without.

Without memories
Without a doubt
My life full of treasures
Fortunate to live out.

Without memories
Without a doubt
I would govern
Ideals I sought.

Within memories
Are my doubts
A true filter for these
Would create a new ease

Such as it is
Such as I AM
I will sift through
And mark some memories
As Spam.

-Kelly Voelker

Getting Caught Up

What would it take To get catch up with the pace Does it feel like you'll always Be losing the race? Have you fallen behind while In route of your dreams? Perhaps you have realized Nothing is as it seems. Not dreams, not your visions Not your career or provisions Not easily acquired Or maintained within hours You reasonably expected Or thought would suffice Instead you are living On borrowed money and time. What would it take to Achieve something more simple Within easier reach Not likely to stumble When satisfied within means Of a natural human Caught up is the person Who at heart is more humble. -Kelly Voelker

Feeling Alive

If not a cog in routine By what other means Shall one feel alive In this one and only Moment in time? Do you make plans For to feel this in grand Ways and splendid procession Of beautiful vehicles and things? Does one fiddle with details And manage to balance Though forward momentum Drags on and to challenge? Does one keep on moving Through space and so time Feeling each second As forward and towards Various declarations unsigned? Do schedules and clocks Demonstrate a progression Or do they block The retention of seconds Held to one's own As a moment of presence? Do constant sipped beverages Feed safeness inside Does inhaling the smoke From a ritual side Keep you in principle Engaged in this Small but true break From succeeding at tasks Meant to gain what's at stake? -Kelly Voelker

Occupy your Neighborhood

Looking out at
A day in January
Nothing moves
Winter's sequence
Slow serene.

In the upper register
Of a monochromatic sky
A small hawk tests the wind
Another follows left behind
Until two hawks glide
Side by side.

Another day of winter's still
A house cat traveling
A visual thrill
Disregarding property or fear
Meandering along, through
Between and to
A random destination near

Be the only, be the one
The moving focal point to see
The singular spectacle
The star attraction
Moving through it as you would
Only you, especially should
Occupy your neighborhood.

-Kelly Voelker

Face of Time

I am the face of time
Can you look at me
Without squirming inside?
My eyes change
As adjustments are made
The way you see me changes
You'll see.

I am the face of time
I no longer try to tell you
That which you wouldn't understand
Because you believe
As you take your stand
In the end result of your notions inclined

I don't speak because I know
I don't seek because I've grown
From the inside in patterns
I can't now express

I'm solid and patient
I'll wait 'til you've spent
Your years of currency
Towards what you expect
I'll be here for sure
When you come to me after
Wanting to know
If I've known your disasters

Wanting to borrow
The time that you've spent
Only to find you've been banking
Pure knowledge of
An infinite kind
Of folly and heartaches
No intentional design
Just a unique catharsis
From intentions sought blind.

-Kelly Voelker

The Roots of What is Sane

On a road trip or at home
A companion
Busies himself in the periphery
Talks about his day
Discusses his thoughts or
Sits silently nearby

In the corner
Orchids bloom
Plants grow
At work
a cat sleeps
on the inbox
at my desk

All the while I drift
Seeking newness
Seeking what's next
What new things
Are growing, appearing
As surprise ingredients
For this day and the next

My peripheral companions
I scarcely acknowledge
As I check digital inboxes
and appear in the feed
of my friends as they scroll
to see what new, what's old

It has to do with trust and hope
I concluded only to find
Trust means both

In whom and what I trust
Within my circle of home and
At my portal to the world
Simple domestic routine
Harmonious and pristine
Easy to maintain
The roots of what is sane.

-Kelly Voelker


Definition of Periphery:
 the perimeter of a circle or other closed curve

Definition of Trust:

1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

2. confident expectation of something; hope.

Definition of sane

1: proceeding from a sound mind : RATIONAL

2: mentally soundespecially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one's actions

3: healthy in body

January Village

Bring me soon

A fresh white sheet

With no festoons

A clear and open road

A bright fantastic snow

For my heart rests best

When options are new

Complications few

Chimneys on rooftops

Sending signals of

Peace and warmth

That those inside

Are provided for

And stood by

Always as a village does

Together, winter’s trudge

Through cold then slush

Inviting all to take solace

In the simple pleasures

Owned and honest.

-Kelly Voelker

An Appeal to the Sun

You are missed
The grey days extend
Far as the frontier horizon
Never seems to bend

We know you are contracted
To focus elsewhere more
During this time of the year
We understand the terms

Yet our eyes half open
Much the day long
As our filtered daylight
Seems like a flat backdrop

For some it simplifies
Their day's required tasks
Fewer details, fewer ties
Our known annual last reprise

I somehow feel neglected though
Your radiance is missed
A depth it warms

Although my lament is futile
To express it helps to ease the chill
Longing for your gentle gold
Cheer and joy when shown through snow
Making beautiful the cold.

-Kelly Voelker

Proper Fall

We were living the shock of flash-frozen fall.

Now today is the true spirit of fall
With its sunshine, fresh air and
The healing smell of properly brown leaf litter.

I see a whirling bunch of leaves
dance by my window
I hear the undulating sound of crisp wind
As it rises and subsides
Leaving me breathless and
My eyes open wide.

-Kelly Voelker

Character Legacy

Take care to amend
Any notions taken in
As part of your status quo

If your character has had
A mechanical failure due to
Not being engineered well

Fix it in time
To carry out your will
Even after your eventual demise.

-Kelly Voelker